Heart of the Heavens
by princess-sunshine2003
Summary: The boys are on an exchange trip and get a little more than they'd planned on. Rated for a bit of language, a few sexuality references, and a bit of mature...um, thoughts. R


Title: Heart of the Heavens

Summary: Toma "Rowen" Hashiba is tired of being seen as the antisocial, brilliant Ronin Warrior. He's tired of Seiji's girl troubles, Ryo's consistent "is Naste really the right one, Toma?"'s, Shin's shy requests for his advice, and Shu's bragging about his many girlfriends. That's why the exchange program was such a good idea, to his way of thinking. But Los Angeles turns out to be a little too much even for the Ronins' adventurous spirits. Seiji's girl troubles begin anew, Ryo learns what the "party life" really is, Shin gets more than he bargains for in a surfer chick, and Shu discovers the greatest American invention to date: the Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese. And Toma? Toma learns that American girls are a completely different breed from Japanese girls.

Disclaimer: Don't own the Ronin Warriors/Samurai Troopers. I know I contradict myself, calling them Ronin Warriors and using their Samurai Trooper names. But I don't, repeat, DO NOT own them. I borrowed them, made no profit off them, and returned them only slightly roughed up. I swear.

Part One:

Toma Hashiba sighed when someone knocked, again, on his door. Shu had left five minutes ago, so it couldn't be him. Shin could do his own homework and Seiji was on another date, probably breaking it off with his current flame. Toma was glad they were leaving the next day for Los Angeles.

"Hai?" The door opened, and sure enough, in popped Ryo's dark head.

"Hey, Toma, you got a minute?"

"Sure, Ryo. What's up?" The dark-haired leader walked the rest of the way in and draped himself over a chair near the desk.

"Well, I was wondering...do you think Naste should come with us? I mean, I know we wanted to use this as a chance to get away, but...I dunno. We haven't really been apart from her since we met her five years ago. I was just thinking, maybe she'd want to come. We didn't bother to ask her, did we? I mean, we kind of just signed up for the program without even discussing it with her. And-"

"Ryo, we did talk to her about it, remember? She didn't want to leave her new job so soon after getting it. She didn't know if she'd be able to find one in the States for just a year, so she said she'd stay here and see us when we got back. Besides, she is coming out: for Christmas."

"Oh. Yeah, right. Forgot. Thanks, man." Toma nodded, hiding both his exasperation and his amusement. Ryo got up and left, pulling the door shut behind himself, leaving Toma in peace, short-lived as that always was around his friends.

Which is why he was surprised when the next interruption came at eight, from Jun, coming to tell him goodnight and safe flight. He hugged the kid goodbye and glanced at the clock. Then, stretching, he packed away his books and papers and went to brush his teeth. Shu waved as he came out of the bathroom and headed down the hall to the room he shared with Shin. Toma stared at his reflection while he brushed his teeth vigorously.

He was slightly pale, paler than any of his friends, but his fair skin went well with his royal blue hair and matching eyes. He'd been told he had beautiful eyes by three women in his life: his mother, Naste, and a sophomore his first year of high school, whom he'd declined to ask out. That was when it began, his reputation as an antisocial genius. And that was one of the good rumors. He'd heard others: he was homosexual (he did live with four guys, a kid and one girl), he was not only girl-shy, but female-phobic, he'd been sexually abused...the list went on. He sighed, spraying toothpaste foam on the mirror. Resignedly wiping it off with a towel, he looked at his reflection again.

That was going to change when they got to California. It was a new beginning. No one there knew how many times he and his friends had saved the world. No one knew how many girlfriends he'd had, or what his IQ was, or that he was reserved by nature, but loved good conversation. Only his friends knew, and they would be too busy with their own pursuits to tell anyone. A completely new beginning this time. That was all he needed.

Well, that and a good night's sleep.

* * *

Toma shook Seiji awake after his shower the next morning. The blond warrior had come home from his last date with a split lip and had fallen into bed without changing. Silver eyes blinked blearily at him, then dawned with comprehension. "Oh, right, the plane."

"There's enough hot water left if you hurry. Shin and Shu were still arguing about where Shu's toothbrush was when I got out. You know Shin will take forever if he gets in first." Seiji nodded and grinned sardonically, then got up as if he'd slept peacefully for twelve hours, gathering his clothes and bounding out of the room.

Only seconds later, he poked his head back in and stared in surprise at Toma. "You're up early," he commented unnecessarily, just realizing what time it was. Toma smiled ironically.

"I woke up the others this morning," he replied. Seiji's one visible eye widened in shock, but Toma only smiled and shooed him out. A moment later, the bathroom door slammed shut and the water started to run. Truth was, Toma hadn't really slept last night, something he knew he'd regret in a few short hours. But a good cup of hot chocolate and he'd be okay until the plane took off...maybe. He yawned hugely and hefted his overnight bag over his shoulder. The rest of their things had been sent on a week before, so each of them only had to worry about the essentials.

"You five had better hurry! The taxis are here!" Naste's voice shouted up the stairs twenty minutes later. "Ryo-kun, check and see if Toma's awake!"

"I resent that comment," Toma called back down.

"Yeah, the air-head woke _us_ up for a change!" Shu yelled, thudding down the stairs after his friend. Toma made a face, but he was amused nonetheless.

"Yeah, and you drooled all over your pillow, rock-skull," he retorted, grabbing his bigger friend in a headlock, making Shu laugh.

"Either way, boys, you're going to be late if you don't get going now! Those taxi drivers are getting impatient." Naste kissed each of their cheeks as they filed out the front door, reserving Ryo for last, and a private goodbye. He bounded out the door with a silly grin on his face a minute after the rest and continued to smile like that all the way to the airport.

Seiji got their tickets, just as Toma started to feel the effects of his sleepless night. He leaned on Shu's houlder and then almost fell over. "Uh-oh, guys, looks like we've got to find blue-boy here something to eat." Seiji took his roommate in hand and Toma tottered to a seat at a small cafe inside the terminal while the others stood in line to get breakfast. When they came back, Seiji shoved a large mug of hot chocolate and a gargantuan cinnamon roll at him. Grinning tiredly but gratefully at his friend, Toma inhaled his breakfast and felt much better afterwards, though not as well as he might have felt had he actually slept the night before.

"You can sleep on the plane, Toma," Seiji said, finishing off his tea and muffin. The blue head bobbed once and went still; his eyes were glazed.

Sure enough, as soon as they'd boarded, Toma curled up under his 'team jacket' and fell instantly asleep. The last thing he heard before oblivion claimed him was Shu, whining, "Aw, man, now we gotta worry about waking him up when we get there!" His lips curled into a smile and he slept.

* * *

"Toma, wake up, we're almost there," Seiji's voice penetrated his sleep-fogged mind, but he stubbornly refused to be moved. His body craved sleep. "Toma, I'm serious! Wake up!"

Then Shin's quieter tones: "Toma, you're going to have lines on your face." Sighing inwardly, Toma reluctantly came out of his coma and glared at his auburn-haired friend.

"Like I care about lines on my face," he slurred sleepily. Shin smiled. 'Damn him,' Toma thought, admiring the way nothing could ruffle his friend. "I was enjoying my nap."

"Your 'nap' has lasted the last fifteen hours, my friend," Shin replied, indicating the window beside Seiji. Toma obligingly looked out it and saw that they were taxiing to their departure gate. "You slept through takeoff, landing and all that passes between. The movies, the meals, and the noise. I'm impressed." Toma blinked, then grinned sheepishly.

"I sleep well on planes. Up high, you know?" They all nodded; they did know. He yawned once more and stretched, narrowly missing breaking Seiji's nose in the process, though his friend had the good grace not to say anything. He apologized anyway, and got up, slinging his bag over his shoulder to join the throng of departing passengers. "Ah! Fresh air!" he said when they descended the stairs and emerged into the bright San Francisco sunlight. Seiji grinned, but tipped his head back to soak in the sun.

"It's good to be on the ground again," Shu commented gruffly as they walked across the tarmac towards the terminal.

"It's good to be here," Toma remarked, looking around to see if they could see any of the city from where they were. "Hey, look! It's almost like Tokyo Tower."

"Almost. Not quite as tall," Ryo said, the first time he'd spoken up since leaving the house. "Hey, I'm starved. Let's see if we can convince our 'family' to let us eat first."

"Good plan," the others chorused as they passed into the cooler interior of the terminal that housed customs.

"Welcome to the United States," said their customs agent in a disinterested drawl. The five boys went through the whole routine with her, got their passports stamped, and finally passed through the gate into the main terminal.

"Hey, look! I think that's our host family," Shin said, pointing to a smallish group of people with their five names painted or printed on a large sign.

"Unless there's someone else around with our names on a poster, I think Shin is right," Ryo said, grinning. "Let's go meet and greet the new fam, shall we?"

Toma shook his head and fell into step at the back of the crowd. "Hello, boys!" exclaimed a hearty female voice. "I'm Alyssa Jensen. My daughter Amy, my sons Hayden and Dominic. Kids, say hello." The girl named Amy merely popped her gum and rolled her eyes. Dominic, who looked about five, blinked shyly, grinned the same way and waved without saying a word, one hand clasped firmly in his sister's, the other holding a thumb in his mouth. Hayden, who appeared little more than ten, smiled and shook all their hands.

"Mom, can we get out of here, please? Rae's gonna be at the house any minute, and I don't want her sitting on the porch waiting for me! She's had to do that too many times!" Amy had clearly dismissed them as a temporary inconvenience, but Alyssa glared at her oldest child until Amy sighed, rolling her eyes again. "All right, all right. Welcome to Los Angeles. Sorry, I guess I was being rude." Alyssa cleared her throat, but that appeared to be all the concessions the headstrong teenager was willing to make.

"All right. I guess we should head out. You boys don't mind hamburgers, do you? We're having a barbeque tonight to celebrate Amy's birthday."

"Really?" Shu asked, the first to speak up. "How old are you?"

Amy looked slightly startled, and responded automatically. "Eighteen."

"Cool. Happy Birthday."

Amy's gray eyes widened. "Thanks." It sounded as if the words were painful, but Shu chose to gallantly ignore it. "So, can we go?"

"I call shotgun!" shouted Hayden. Amy shook her head and picked up Dominic, placing him on her shoulders.

"I'm sorry. But we have company. Offer it to one of them." Hayden pouted for a split second before shrugging and looking up at Ryo.

"Is your bag heavy? Can I carry it?" Looking as if he was choking on laughter, Ryo handed it wordlessly to the slender child, who hefted it, looked about to collapse under its weight, and then set off determinedly in the direction of the car.

"Strong kid."

"Proud," Amy corrected as her mother followed. She smiled proudly. "Determined to be one of the big kids before he's big enough to do it." She reached above her without looking and pulled Dominic's thumb out of his mouth. "Like this one here. Refused his nap today, didn't you?"

"I don't need naps anymore, Amy," Dominic retorted, sticking his thumb back in his mouth as he blinked and yawned hugely.

"Of course not. And neither do I, but that doesn't mean they don't come in handy once in a while. I took one yesterday."

"Mom said that was because you didn't come home until two in the morning." Amy flushed and stopped arguing with her youngest brother. Then she set off with him settled comfortably. He grinned and waved at them to follow, swaying back and forth with his sister's movement.

Amy was irritated, both at her little brothers and at herself, for telling her best friend to come at a time so close to when the plane was to arrive. She hid a wicked smile when she thought about the look on her boy-shy best friend's face when she caught a look at the five relatively attractive guys climb out of the van. For the longest time, Amy had thought and even dared to hope that her straight-laced best friend might turn out to be a little less than straight, but it was a foolish hope that the strongly devout Christian girl would turn out to be anything but straight as a ruler's edge. Best friends always, despite the differences in their sexualities.

Sure enough, as they pulled into the driveway, Amy groaned aloud when she saw Rae leaning against a porch-support post, reading. "Oh, no! I hope she hasn't been there long!" Alyssa said, glancing back at Amy, tucked in the very back of the van. However, she found her daughter climbing over the back of the back seat. As soon as the car ground to a halt, Amy had popped the latch that held the trunk open and was running towards the seated figure.

"Rae!"

"Afternoon, Ames," Rae replied, her voice a medium alto, and amused. The shorter Amy threw her arms around the brunette's neck and laughed.

"Trust you to bring a book."

"Always prepared. Looks like a good thing too, this time. Hi, Mrs. Jensen!"

"Hello, dear. How was the drive?"

"I'm living with Leon for the year, so I was able to walk from the apartment. It was a beautiful day for it too," she called back. "Where were you, anyway?" she asked, returning to a softer voice, directed at Amy.

"Picking up our exchange students from the airport. And there's five of them, so it took a while. I still say you should move in with us for the year. Give me and Mom some back-up. We're way outnumbered now." These words were emphasized as the five Japanese boys stepped out of the car, followed by Hayden and Dominic. The latter threw his arms around her legs and squeezed, making her laugh and bend down to hug him. Hayden was too dignified to run, but his hug was every bit as enthusiastic as his younger sibling's. Alyssa crossed the yard and kissed her cheek.

"It's been a while, dear. How is your family? I'm sorry we couldn't come and get you at the airport, but Amy's meet was Saturday."

"No big," Rae said breezily, devoutly ignoring the looks from the five strangers as she greeted her pseudo family, having recovered her wits at the surprise of seeing five attractive males climb from the van. "Leon wanted to drive around anyway. He got a new car as well as a new place, and he was eager to show me both."

"How is he doing?"

"He's doing well. Film school was the best thing that's happened to him in a long time, excluding Luca. He's got a really good steady job, a big group of friends that insist on coming over all the time unannounced and staying until the sun comes up, and all the time in the world to spend with his baby sister." She made a face that managed to be amused and disgusted. "He and Luca are engaged, too, so keep August clear. Just the whole month, because they'll probably change the date several times." She grinned.

"Well, tell him congratulatons from us," Alyssa said, leading the whole party inside the huge house. "Amy, Hayden, show the boys where to put their things. Dominic, bring Rae into the kitchen while I make smoothies."

"Mom, I wanted to show her something!" Amy protested. Alyssa nodded and took her son's hand. He used the other to wave at her as the larger company began to climb the stairs. "So, more details, girl! Why on earth did you decide to come out here for your last year of high school, when I've been begging you to come forever?"

Rae laughed. "Leon's invitation, your invitation, and Jesse's persistence. He's reserved one day a week for practice with me. Who would ever have imagined that me, Maurae, would have two gay best friends?" Both Seiji and Toma choked on their tongues at this, but the girls, thankfully for dignity's sake, chose to pretend like they hadn't noticed. Rae threaded her arm through Amy's. "But what about you? How have you been since I saw you last? What's it been, three months?"

"About. I've been good. We've all been good. Mom's seeing some guy. Hayden's doing really well in school. I swear, the kid's got the biggest crush on you, Rae! Dominic starts first grade this year. I've got a steady girlfriend, and I've applied to UCLA, Berkley, and, for kicks, NYU."

"Wait, stop and rewind. Tell me about your girlfriend."

"Just a minute." She turned around. "Okay, this hall is the designated "Boy Hall" in this house. My brothers have their rooms at this end, but the rest of the rooms on this floor are yours to pick and choose from. There's three down there, and two that way. The two down there share a bathroom, as do my brothers' rooms. And there's a third bathroom at the end of the hall." She swept an actor's flourishing bow, and motioned them off. Then she turned back to her friend. "Carrie Martin. You'll meet her next Monday at school; she's visiting her dad right now, otherwise you'd meet her at the party tonight. You're spending this week with me, right?" They started walking back towards the stairs because the five boys hadn't budged.

"I thought you'd be showing your new...erm, houseguests around. Why didn't you tell me it was five guys?" Rae demanded, thinking they were out of earshot, climbing towards the third floor and Amy's huge bedroom.

"Because the look on your face when you saw them was both amusing and gorgeous."

"Amy, stop flirting with me."

"But yes, I was planning on that. So you'll have to come."

"Can't tomorrow. Told you, Jesse's commandeered my whole morning to practice. Shooting and skating and stuff. You're welcome to watch, but you don't get up until noon anyway."

"To see you skating around in shorts, I would."

"Amy, the flirting. Anyway, if you want to catch up with us and play a little, we'll be at the street court by his house. And Ames? No playing matchmaker this time, hey?"

"No promises." The sound of flesh hitting flesh was startling, but no less was the exuberant laughter that followed the sound.

"So..." Toma said, coming out of his daze first. It had to be a record. Two attractive females ignoring all five of them in the space of little more than an hour. Had to be a big blow to Seiji's ego, though now Amy's indifference was explained. Maybe her friend was already attached? "Sounds like there's enough rooms that we don't have to share." No one was paying attention to him, so he shrugged and went to inspect each one, finally choosing one that faced the beach, behind the house. The sun wouldn't wake him up in the morning. By the time he'd finished relocating all his stuff, the others had finished their daze and followed his lead.

It was about an hour later when Alyssa called up the stairs for them to come down and eat. The back porch was set for a barbeque, and the two younger boys were eating happily. Toma looked around for the girls. Alyssa, seeing the question on his face, volunteered the answer.

"The girls took their food down to the water. You're welcome to join them if you'd like. You might want to change for swimming, though." Seeing them digging in, she revised her statement. "You should eat first. I bet you're starving."

They chorused their thank you's as they fell on the food, and they were all finished within a few minutes. "We'll go change now."

"All right. I'm taking the boys to the park for a while, until the rest of the party guests show up, so head down the beach towards those rocks and you'll find the girls." Toma, being the only one really paying attention, offered a polite bow of his head and then the five boys were a blur of motion. Alyssa shook her head. "Teenagers," she muttered, cleaning up her sons and grabbing her purse.

* * *

The boys knew they were getting close when they heard splashes and laughter. Then Amy's voice rose above the noise from the waves. "You could help me show them around."

"I don't normally live here, remember? I don't know my way around!"

"But you have to come with us! Don't give me all five on my own! I'll scar them for life! Besides, it'll be fun! I get to be Tour Guide Barbie." Rae's response was a snort.

"You are not a Barbie," she chuckled.

"How dare you say that!" Amy rejoindered, managing to sound offended and amused. "I am so a Barbie. I'm Lesbian Barbie." Rae's howl of laughter was just on the other side of the rock pile they were already climbing.

"Yeah, you're a Barbie, and I'm a...a, um..."

"A beautiful, smart, incredibly funny and athletic-hey!" the sound of a huge splash.

"You forgot strong, well-mannered, and soft-spoken," Rae added solemnly. They had topped the pile and found the girl grinning from a way out in the water. "Also, anti-social, boy-shy, and-oh, hello!" She bit off the rest of her sentence and ducked under water, but not fast enough that they hadn't seen both her swimsuit and the body wearing it. Amy turned and smiled, waving them down.

"Quick, help me find some adjectives to describe my beautiful best friend. Oh, patient!"

"Shy!" Rae shouted back. "And cold. Very cold. The ocean shouldn't be this cold in the middle of summer. Oh, and wet."

"Yes, the ocean will do that to you," Amy replied seriously, eyes twinkling. She glanced back at them, standing around awkwardly. "Feel free to chip in any time, guys. Sweet. Optimistic. Loyal, faithful, happy, funny-"

"You said that one already," Ryo pointed out suddenly.

"At last, he speaks!" Amy cried. "But you're right, I did. Hey, Rae! You're not being helpful!"

"Those are adjectives to describe you, Amy, not me!"

"Modest, then," Shu spoke up with a grin, earning him a like gesture from Amy.

"Good, guys, good. Anyone else?" She pretended to hand a microphone to Shin, then Seiji, then Toma, but none of them said anything. "Okay...come on, here, I'm exhausting my supply of good adjectives."

"Amy, you're being a pest," Rae said matter-of-factly, stretching out onto her back in the fomy waves.

"I know, but you love me for it."

"Of course I do."

"Oh, and loveable. Caring, compassionate..."

"Aren't those the same thing?" Seiji asked finally as he and his friends started to relax enough to pull off their shirts. Rae choked on a mouthful of salt water and disappeared under a wave for a few seconds. Then she came up coughing.

"Studious," Amy continued, as though her friend wasn't hacking on a lung. "Is that the same thing as...no, um, what's the word...oh, yeah, bibliophillic."

"Bibliophilic?" Rae repeated incredulously. "Where on earth did you learn bibliophilic?"

"English vocab, ninth grade. You know what it means?"

"Of course I know what it means. I was making sure you did." Rae sighed and resigned herself to having both her virtues and her body put on display in the same night and stood, water falling from her body. Ignoring the sudden silence from the boys, she climbed out of the water and grabbed a sand-free towel, wrapping it around her waist, which, admittedly, left a whole lot of her middle and chest bare. She could literally feel the heat coming from her flushing skin.

"Where was I?"

"Enough for one night, Ames. Let's pick apart someone else's character for once."

"But I love complimenting you," Amy mock-pouted.

"It's only a compliment if it's true, which I doubt half the things you've said are."

"Which ones aren't?" Amy demanded as the boys all dove into the water. Rae sat on a rock and stared after them thoughtfully, noticing that Shin was incredibly fast in the water. "You are beautiful. And smart, and all the other things I said! Unless you're acquainted with a different Maurae than me."

"Amy, stop flattering me."

"You never did like compliments, did you, sunrise?" Both girls turned and grinned at the lanky black boy climbing over the rocks above them. "Happy Birthday, Ames. Good to see you again, Rae."

"You saw me on Saturday, Jess," she replied, moving over to give him space on her rock.

"So I did. Who are the lovelies?"

Amy pointed each out as she named them. "Seiji Date's the blond. Ryo Sanada is the darkest one, Shu Fanlei is the thicker one. Shin Mouri is the one that swims like a fish, and Toma Hashiba is the only one left."

"Toma's a true hottie. But Seiji's the one I like best," Jesse replied. "I'll take him and Rae can have Toma."

"Jesse!" both girls cried in unison, smacking the boy on the back of the head. He only laughed and slung arms around them both.

"The party's on the way down here, thought you should know. Your mom's letting them change at the house, but I wore my swimming trunks here, so I didn't need to waste time."

"How prudent of you," Rae retorted, leaning back on her hands and staring out at the horizon. Neither Jesse nor Amy said anything when they noticed Toma approaching, his eyes fixed on her face. "Have you ever wondered just what's out there?" she asked dreamily.

"Well, if you go far enough, Japan, Australia, Indonesia, China," Jesse replied, his eyes fixed speculatively on the rapt blue gaze focused intently on his friend's face. "They're all there." He waved a hand towards the line separating sea and sky.

"Actually, Japan's there," Toma said quietly, pointing. Rae jumped at the sound and looked up. Inexplicably, both flushed and looked away, though not before Amy and Jesse traded significant looks.

"You've lived there all your life?" Rae asked, pulling her gaze back to him as he sat down on the sand, dripping water from his blue locks, one of which hung across his eyes. She had to keep herself from clenching her hands as her eyes followed the travels of one drop from his shoulder, down his back, over the muscles there and the ridges of his spine. She swallowed hard. He turned to look back and up at her.

"Born and raised. Where are you from?"

"Colorado, originally. Then Minnesota and now Wisconsin. What's it like, living on an island?" He smiled, making her blush again, but with an act of will, she kept her eyes on his this time.

"It doesn't feel like an island most of the time. It is rather big, after all," he said. She smiled softly and turned her head to look at the horizon again. It was his turn to stare at her. Her thick hair held water well, and it was still dripping occasionally. He found his eyes, like hers moments before, following a drop of water on its path from the hollow of her throat, down. Amy and Jesse traded another look and got up silently to walk a bit down the beach together, heads close, whispering; gleefully planning how best to get their shy, reserved best friend together with this handsome stranger who seemed already taken with her. "How about you? What's it like to grow up here, in the United States?"

"I wouldn't know what to tell you. I don't know any different. But I want to. I want to go overseas when I finish school. Asia, Europe, Africa...everywhere. Except Antarctica. Too cold. I'm learning all the languages I can. I've taken French and Spanish and German. I've started Japanese and Mandarin Chinese. Not an easy language you speak." Her smile softened the criticism. I know some phrases in Gaelic, and a few more in Latvian. My friend Kat is teaching me Russian. And I'm dying to start Arabic and Greek."

"Wow," he said, truly impressed by her vast repertoire of languages.

"I'm nowhere near fluent in any of them except maybe French and German, but I want to be. Someday, mabe, I will."

"I forgot that one, Toma, thanks," Amy said suddenly, appearing again.

"Forgot what one?" Rae asked, confused.

"Multilingual." Rae shook her head and groaned.

"Don't you ever switch off?"

"For you? Of course not. I had a good one a minute ago, what was it?" She looked at Jesse for help.

"Are we naming her virtues again?" he asked.

"Yes. We've got a lot of them, but we're missing some still."

"Beautiful, smart, funny, optimistic, multilingual, polite, compassionate, strong-willed, persistent, stubborn...wait, that's the same as strong-willed. Um, faithful, lingual, studious, athletic, reserved, shy, chaste-"

"I forgot that one! That's what I was going to say!" Amy interrupted.

"Oh, God! My friends," she said by way of explanation to the grinning Toma. She turned and shot a glare at the two of them. "You forgot fast and tempermental," she said threateningly. "And going to hurt you if I catch you." On cue, both her friends took off down the beach, laughing as they ran. "Come on," she said, offering a hand to Toma, who took it and allowed himself to be pulled to his feet. She pulled on a pair of shorts, threw off the towel and took off down the beach in a cloud of sand.

"We're playing Tag, apparently," Toma said to his friends, who laughed and splashed out of the water after the others. Rae caught Amy with an impressive flying tackle, and both girls were coated in sand when the boys caught up, laughing and spitting out the gritty dirt. Then Rae got up and, grinning, started off after Jesse again. Amy caught her legs, sending her sprawling again, getting even more thickly coated.

"Run, Jess!"

"Oh, I'm going to kill you later, Jensen!" Rae said, rolling over and wretling for possession of her legs. She glanced up at the boys and grinned in a rare moment of boldness. Offering her hands to Seiji and Toma, she said sweetly, "Pull me up?" They took her hands, of course, and she yanked them into the roiling mass of sand and bodies that was the tussle. Amy squeaked when someone landed on her, prompting her to let go of Rae's legs, which the other girl took advantage of, leaping to her feet and racing off with a small salute and a cheeky grin at the two sand-encrusted boys she'd dragged into the mess. "You better keep running!" she shouted down the beach after her still-retreating friend.

"You know you love me!" he yelled back, just before running into someone and getting knocked on his butt. A minute later, she pante dup beside him and the person he'd knocked over, flopping onto the sand next to Jesse.

"So, do I win, or do you forfeit?"

"They're the same thing, Rae. Hey, um, sorry about that."

"No problem," the girl said, though her lip was bleeding. "I'm Ana."

"Jesse. This is Rae."

"Nice to meet you."

"Yeah, you too. So how come you were running?"

"Because she threatened to maim me," he replied candidly. Rae stuck her tongue out at him, but smiled.

"We were playing tag," she explained as Ana got up and left, waving. Rae flopped backwards onto the warm sand. "The whole situation was getting way too personal for me. Thanks, Jess."

"He was staring at you." Normally, that comment or any like it would have caused her to flush and bolt upright, denying it vehemently. Now, she just looked at him sideways.

"What? I know he was staring. I was kind of starting to enjoy it."

Jesse whistled through his teeth. "When we play the compliment game, I won't be able to use naive or innocent anymore, will I?"

"Innocent, maybe, but no, not naive. Not anymore." She grinned. "What? Shocked?"

"Confused, maybe."

"Jess, most of my innocent-girl act is just that: an act. No, I don't like the compliments. Yes, I am a bit shy, though much less so than when we first met. Being friends with you and Amy will do that to a person. And another adjective that you forgot is pure."

"Still, huh?" he teased as the others caught up.

She raised an eyebrow as Amy flopped down, winded. "What'd we miss?"

"Rae's been telling me all about how she's not as naive as we think she is. At least, I think that was the point of the conversation. Unless I missed something. Did I miss something?" His tone was significant, and this time, she did blush, making their new friends wonder what was going on in the conversation they could only half-hear. The majority of it was going on between the lines, that much they could tell.

"No, you didn't miss anything," she finally managed. "That promise was made in good faith and it won't change until the day it's no longer relevant."

"Good. Because you were starting to worry me. I was beginning to think you'd gone rebel on us while you were away." She snorted indelicately and looked away, catching sight of all five boys, caked in sand.

"What happened to you?" she asked. "I mean, I know what happened to Seiji and Toma, but the rest of you were…cleaner the last time I saw you."

"That evil question deserves a dunking," Amy declared, standing and grabbing her friend's wrists. Jesse obligingly grabbed her feet and they towed her to the water, swinging her a few times to build up momentum, which she obviously resigned herself to. When they let go, she flew up and out, landing with a large splash in an incoming wave. She surfaced a moment later, blowing out water like a fountain, and grinning.

"I'll see you back at the towels!" she called, diving into the wave again and taking off.

"Hey!" Amy yelled. She lowered her voice. "Oh, fine. Either way, she's faster than me. Come on, we might as well get back. I'm sure everyone else is there by now."

"She's swimming back?" Shin asked, impressed.

"She's a fast swimmer," Amy shrugged. "And a fast runner. Damn, Jess, is there anything she's not good at?"

"Dancing," he replied immediately. "I went to a club the other night with her and Leon and a bunch of his friends. Girl doesn't know how to use her own body to best advantage. You know Luca had to help her get dressed? Hey, that's what we should do tomorrow night! Go clubbing!"

"You may be on to something there, Jess," Amy said thoughtfully. "I haven't been dancing in a while. We'll get her to loosen up in no time." She turned around to walk backwards so she could size up her new housemates. "So, what do you guys think of my best friend?"

"Our best friend," Jesse corrected. "She's pretty, yes?"

"We kind of noticed that," Shu supplied for them all.

"Want to go dancing tomorrow night?"

"Sounds great," Seiji said eagerly. "We haven't been out in a while." The others agreed.

"Good. And maybe we can get my shy friend to come out of her shell and test the waters, huh, Jess?" His mischievous smile was a match for her own, as they traded looks. Looks that spelled trouble for Toma Hashiba and their best friend Rae.


End file.
